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The relevance of earthen architecture in the Gaza strip
Rania Arar
To cite this version:
Rania Arar. The relevance of earthen architecture in the Gaza strip. Architecture, space management. 2017. �dumas-01590270�
The Relevance of Earthen Architecture in the
Gaza Strip
Rania Arar ID 10494040
M. Sc. Urbanism, Habitat and International Cooperation Institut d’Urbanisme de Grenoble - Université Grenoble Alpes
4th of September, 2017
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Jean-Christophe Dissart Jury member: Prof. Dr. Nina Gribat
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Abstract
In Gaza Strip, housing construction projects have been exposed to various challenges due to the Israeli imposed siege and the shortage of construction materials. As the construction sector is one of the most important industries in the Gaza Strip and around the world, there has been an urgent need to think of alternative construction materials and new building techniques.
The purpose of this study is to improve and recover the housing construction sector in the Gaza Strip and find alternatives to deal with the housing crisis, through investigating the relevance and applicability of using earth as a construction material for housing projects in the Gaza Strip.
The different factors that have been affecting the use of earth materials were investigated through a feasibility study which included: detailed study of the local building culture, the construction sector and the availability of local materials, in addition to a questionnaire which targeted the citizens of Gaza and worked as a very effective method in investigating the feasibility, and finally stakeholders’ analysis.
Development strategy for promoting earthen architecture was developed as a response to different factors that are affecting the widespread use of earth in housing projects. The strategy covered different approaches: the first approach was studying the contemporary architecture of Gaza. The second approach presented three earthen construction technologies that can be used in the contemporary scenario of the Gaza Strip. The third approach included three case studies of contemporary earthen architecture. Finally, different values of using earthen architecture have been elaborated.
The use of earth as a construction material is already initiated in Gaza, with a need for improving and developing in the construction techniques, as well as changing in the perception of people who perceive earth as a weak and fragile material. Thus, based on the result of the feasibility, the study concluded with proposing innovative earthen construction techniques, as well as recommendations.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis supervisor Prof. Dr. Jean-Christophe Dissart, for all of his efforts, support, motivation, immense knowledge, and the continuous feedback and guidance throughout the work on thesis.
My sincere thanks goes to the CRAterre institute and all its team, and special thanks to my internship mentor Philippe Garnier, who provided me the opportunity to join their team as an intern, and gave me access to various research facilities and professional contacts. Without his precious support and his continuous follow-up it would not be possible to conduct this research.
I would also like to thank Mundus Urbano program for the organisation, and my colleagues in the Mundus Urbano program and my friends all around the world, for the true inspiration and for sharing valuable expertise in different fields which greatly assisted the research.
Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my family for supporting and encouraging me. Thank you
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List of abbreviations
Acronym Definition
LBC Local Building Culture
GRM Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism
NGOs Non-Governmental Organization
UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency
UNDP United Nations Development Program
CEB Compressed Earth Block
ILO International Labour Organization
5 Table of Contents Abstract ... 2 Acknowledgements ... 3 List of abbreviations ... 4 List of Figures ... 7 List of Tables ... 12 Chapter 1: Introduction ... 13 1. Introduction ... 14 1.1 Background ... 14 1.2 Problem Statement ... 16
1.3 The aim and objective s of the study ... 17
1.4 Research limitations and scope ... 17
1.5 Significance of the study ... 18
1.6 Research Methodology ... 18
1.7 Primary and secondary research questions... 19
1.8 Description of the thesis’s chapters ... 20
Chapter 2: Literature review ... 21
2. Introduction ... 22
2.1 The context ... 22
2.2 Population... 22
2.3 Housing emergency in the Gaza strip ... 24
2.4 The buffer zone and land use ... 26
2.5 Conclusion ... 27
Chapter 3: Feasibility study... 28
3. Using earth as a construction material in the Gaza Strip ... 29
3.1 The local building culture (LBC) of Gaza Strip ... 30
3.1.1 Sandstone houses ... 30
3.1.2 Mudstone (sun dried bricks) ... 32
3.1.3 Concrete houses ... 34
3.1.4 Contemporary residential buildings in the Gaza Strip ... 35
3.2 The construction sector in the Gaza Strip ... 36
3.2.1 Construction training centers in the Gaza Strip ... 38
3.3 Available local building materials... 39
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3.3.2 Alternatives and natural resources ... 39
3.4 Questionnaire Analysis ... 44
3.5 Stakeholder analysis ... 55
3.6 Results and Conclusion ... 56
Chapter 4: Development strategy ... 59
4. Development strategy for earthen architecture in Gaza Strip ... 60
4.1 The contemporary architecture in Gaza Strip ... 61
4.2 Earth as a building material ... 63
4.2.1 Earth blocks: Adobe and CEB ... 65
4.2.2 Rammed earth (pisé) ... 70
4.2.3 Conclusion ... 74
4.3 Contemporary earthen case studies ... 76
4.3.1 Auroville experience with earthen architecture ... 76
4.3.2 Social Housing Project in Baja, Mexico ... 83
4.3.3 Sandbag houses_Mitchell’s Plain ... 86
4.3.4 Conclusion and summary ... 90
4.4 The values of earthen architecture ... 91
4.5 Conclusion ... 94
Chapter 5: Design and technical proposals ... 95
5. Basic design and construction proposals for housing in the Gaza Strip ... 96
5.1 Design concept ... 96
5.2 Proposed construction techniques ... 97
5.2.1 Technique (1): In-fill walling... 97
5.2.2 Technique (2): Envelope technique ... 100
5.2.3 Technique (3): Floors extension ... 102
5.2.4 Techniques (4): New housing ... 103
5.3 Conclusion ... 105
5.4 Design and construction guidelines: ... 105
Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations... 107
6.1 Conclusion ... 108
6.2 Recommendations ... 109
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List of Figures
Figure 1 Governmental building using Mud-bricked in Gaza. Source: (Fayez, 2009) ... 15
Figure 2 (Left) Production of mud bricks in Gaza. Source: (BBC News, 2009) ... 16
Figure 3 (Right) House of sandbags in Khan Younis-Gaza. Source: (Aljazeera, 2011) ... 16
Figure 4 Location of the Gaza Strip. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016) ... 22
Figure 5 Gaza’s population. Source: (BBC News, 2014) ... 23
Figure 6 The housing emergency in the Gaza Strip. Source: (OCHA, 2014) ... 24
Figure 7 (left) Severe Damaged apartment, source: (Harriet, 2015) ... 25
Figure 8 (Middle) Partially damaged house, source: (Arnesen, 2009) ... 25
Figure 9 (Right) Totally damage buildings, source: (Schilling, 2014) ... 25
Figure 10 Progress in construction of 17,800 homes destroyed or severely damaged during 2014 conflict: Source (OCHA, 2016) ... 26
Figure 11 (left) The buffer zone map in the Gaza Strip. Source: (Sennder, 2014) ... 26
Figure 12 (Right) Land use in the Gaza Strip. Source: (Shomar, Abu Fakher, & Yahya, 2009) ... 26
Figure 13 Major land use sectors in the Gaza Strip. Source: (Shomar, Abu Fakher, & Yahya, 2009) ... 27
Figure 14 (Left) Plan of a Courtyard Sandstone House in Gaza (Alamy House). Source: (Muhaisen, 2016) ... 32
Figure 15 (Right) Courtyard Spaces in Sandstone Houses in Gaza. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016) ... 32
Figure 16 (Left) Plan of Traditional Mud House in Gaza. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016) ... 33
Figure 17 (Right) Recent Mud House in Gaza in the Construction Process. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016) ... 33
Figure 18 (Left) A plan of a single flat of Multi-stories concrete building in Gaza. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016) ... 35
Figure 19 (Right) Multi-stories concrete house buildings in Gaza. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016) ... 35
Figure 20 (Left) Common style of separate house in Gaza. Source: (Aqarfelesteen, 2015) ... 36
Figure 21 (Middle) Type of villas in Gaza. Source: (Sogarab, 2014) ... 36
Figure 22 (Right) Multi-stories building in Gaza Strip. Source: (Aqarfelesteen, 2016) ... 36
Figure 23 Quantities of construction materials entering Gaza (ton) Oct 2014- May 2015. Source: (Palestine Shelter Cluster, 2015)... 37
Figure 24 Soil map of Gaza Strip. Source: (Hamad, Eshtawi, M. Abushaban, & Habboub, 2012) .... 40
Figure 25 The Israeli buffer zone, build-up area, and soil types in Gaza Strip. Source: (Author, 2017) ... 41
Figure 26 Graph of the age groups of the respondents in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 .... 44
Figure 27 Graph of the professional background of the respondents in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 ... 45
Figure 28 Graph of the living area of the respondents in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 .... 45
Figure 29 Graph of the construction materials of the respondents’ houses in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 ... 46
Figure 30 Graph of the type of respondents’ houses in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 ... 46
Figure 31 Graph of the building priorities of the respondents in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 ... 47
8 Figure 33 Graph of the people’s perception of earthen architecture in the questionnaire. Source:
Author,2017 ... 48
Figure 34 Graph indicates the widespread of earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip based on the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 ... 49
Figure 35 Graph indicates the knowledge of the advantages of earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip, based on the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 ... 49
Figure 36 Graph indicates the level of acceptance towards experimenting earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip, based on the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 ... 50
Figure 37 Graph indicates the level of promoting the prevalence of earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip, based on the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 ... 50
Figure 38 Graph indicates the level of acceptance towards owning earthen house, based on the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 ... 51
Figure 39 Earthen construction project's stakeholders in Gaza. Source: Author, 2017 ... 55
Figure 40 The influence and interest of stakeholders in earthen projects in the Gaza Strip. Source: Author, 2017 ... 56
Figure 41 Challenges-proposals diagram of the feasibility study. Source: Author, 2017 ... 58
Figure 42 The developed strategy of earthen architecture. Source: Author, 2017 ... 60
Figure 43 Earth construction areas of the world. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 63
Figure 44 (Left) The Gate of Yemen surrounds the old city of Sana'a from the 11th century. Source: (Pinterest, Undated) ... 63
Figure 45 (Right) Rammed earth walls of Château de la Bastie d'Urfé in France from the 15th century. Source: (Paccoud, 2015) ... 63
Figure 46 (Left) The Alhambra in Granada was built of rammed earth 700 years ago. Source: (Jebulon, 2012) ... 64
Figure 47 (Right) A big part of the Great Wall of China was built of rammed earth 2500 years ago. Source: (The Great Wall of China, Undated) ... 64
Figure 48 Earthen material components. Source: (Samin, 2016) ... 64
Figure 49 Adobe bricks production process. Source: (Sasabe Adobe, Undated) ... 66
Figure 50 (Left) Modern adobe house. Source: (Idea Bedroom Design , 2015) ... 67
Figure 51 (Right) Adobe house in Greece. Source: (Adobe House Greece, 2012) ... 67
Figure 52 Production process of compressed earth block. Source: (Rigassi, 1985). Edited by Author. ... 68
Figure 53 The compaction techniques. Source: (Zami & Lee, undated) ... 69
Figure 54 (Left& right) compressed mud bricks houses in Gaza. Source: (Earth architecture, 2009) 69 Figure 55 Rammed earth compaction process. Source; (Green Architecture & Building Products, 2017) ... 71
Figure 56 Production process of rammed earth, Source (Zami & Lee, undated): ... 71
Figure 57 Ramming techniques. Source: (Zami & Lee, undated). Edited by Author ... 71
Figure 58 (Left, middle, & right) Rammed earth test walls in Gaza Strip. Source: (Paccoud, 2015) . 72 Figure 59 (Left) College Paiamboué facades made of rammed earth. Source: (CTB, 2016) ... 73
Figure 60 (Right) Rammed earth building-wall. Source: (SIREWALL, Undated) ... 73
Figure 61 The life cycle of earth. Source: (ESCOBAR, 2013) ... 74
Figure 62 (Left) Visitors Centre and Kailash Youth Centre- CSEB. Source: (Aroville Earth Institute, 2005) ... 76
9 Figure 63 (Right) Kailash Youth centre – CSEB. Source: (Aroville Earth Institute, 2005) ... 76 Figure 64 Vikas apartments. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute, 2005) ... 77 Figure 65 ( Left & Right) Excavation of the basement floor – 1.2 m below ground level. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 78 Figure 66 (Left) Vikas community plan, source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 78 Figure 67 (Right) Section of the third building, source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated)... 78 Figure 68 (Left 1) Soil sieved from the digging trench. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 79 Figure 69 (Left 2) Adding sand, cement, and water on the pile of soil. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated)... 79 Figure 70 (Left 3) Pouring the stabilised earth mixes in the trench. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 79 Figure 71 (Right) Checking the top level of the foundation from the reference level. Source:
(Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 79 Figure 72 (Left) Vault in bedroom of an apartment. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 79 Figure 73 (Middle) A cloister domes in living room of an apartment. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated)... 79 Figure 74 (Right) A cloister domes in living room. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) .... 79 Figure 75 (Left) Adjusting Hourdi blocks on T beams. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 80 Figure 76 (Middle) Concreting the roof with a cement concrete. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 80 Figure 77 (Right) Roof with hourdi blocks and T beams. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute ,
Undated) ... 80 Figure 78 (Right) Floor with Hourdi blocks and ferrocement channels. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated)... 80 Figure 79 (Middle) Adjusting Hourdi blocks in between ferrocement channels. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 80 Figure 80 (Left) Casting an earth concrete: 1 cement: 2 soil: 3 sand: 4 gravel. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 80 Figure 81 (Left) Pond for Wastewater treatment integrated with the buildings and nature. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 81 Figure 82 (Middle) Deep percolation pit, (70 m3) at vikas community. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated)... 81 Figure 83 (Right) Principle of the percolation pit. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 81 Figure 84 (Left) Legaum prototype with wooden shingles and interlocking CSEB. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 81 Figure 85 (Middle) Legaum prototype modified with coconut leaves. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated)... 81 Figure 86 (Right) Legaum with foundations – Cloister dome type. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 81 Figure 87 (Left &middle &right) Community participation: Block making and soil sieving. Source: (Auroville Earth Institute , Undated) ... 82 Figure 88 (Left) Concept plans. Source: (Plataforma Arquitectura, 2015) ... 83
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Figure 89 (Right) Ventilation diagram . Source: (Plataforma Arquitectura, 2015) ... 83
Figure 90 (Left) The patio of “Casa O” project. Source: (BLOG LA76, 2016) ... 84
Figure 91 (Right) Andalusian patio. Source: (IMAGES7.COM, Undated) ... 84
Figure 92 Progress and flexibility of the houses’ plan. Source: (Domus, 2015) ... 84
Figure 93 (Left) 3D model of one of housing prototype. Source: (Plataforma Arquitectura, 2015) ... 85
Figure 94 (Right) Lateral elevation. Source: (Plataforma Arquitectura, 2015) ... 85
Figure 95 (Left & right) Mitchell’s Plain_ sandbag housing project. Source: (Smithsonian, 2011) ... 86
Figure 96 (Left & right) The plan and 3D perspective of the Mitchell’s Plain sandbag housing project. Source: (DeZeen, 2008) ... 87
Figure 97 (Left) The structural framework (Eco-Beam). Source: (Duarte, 2008) ... 88
Figure 98 (Right) Eco-Beam, sandbag system, and wood cladding. Source: (Duarte, 2008) ... 88
Figure 99 (Left&right) Sandbag in-fill method in the Mitchell’s Plain project. Source: (designindaba, 2009) ... 88
Figure 100 (Left) The community involvement in the building process. Source: (Smithsonian, 2011) ... 89
Figure 101 (Right) The community involvement in the building process. Source: (designindaba, 2009) ... 89
Figure 102 (Left&right) The community participation and targeted working groups. Source: (Duarte, 2008) ... 89
Figure 103 Dimensions of Sustainability. Source: (Martin, 2012) ... 91
Figure 104 Design concept. Source: Author, 2017 ... 96
Figure 105 (Left) Infill CEB/ Adobe bricks. Source: (earthbuilding, Undated) ... 98
Figure 106 (Right) Infill CEB/ Adobe bricks with cladding. Source: (CRAterre, 2016) ... 98
Figure 107 (Left) Hourdi blocks on reinforced concrete T beams. Source: (ballutblocks, Undated) . 98 Figure 108 (Right) Hourdi blocks on Ferro-cement channels. Source: (Auroville earth institute) ... 98
Figure 109 (Left) Sea plant/fibers, Source: (CRAterre, 2016) ... 99
Figure 110 (Middle) Straw, Source: (RUF, Undated) ... 99
Figure 111 (Right) Light earth blocks, PNEED-TYPHA project in Senegal. Source: (CRAterre, 2016) ... 99
Figure 112 (Left) Light earth blocks and concrete slab for roofing. Source: (CRAterre, 2016) ... 99
Figure 113 (Right) 3D model of light earth blocks used for walls and roofing, and reinforced concrete structure. Source: (CRAterre, 2016)... 99
Figure 114 (Left) Abstract plan of the proposed envelop technique. Source: Author, 2017 ... 100
Figure 115 (Right) Abstract section (A-A) of the proposed envelop technique. Source: Author, 2017 ... 100
Figure 116 (Left & right) Envelope technique using light earth blocks for existing masonry structure. Source: (CRAterre, 2016) ... 101
Figure 117 (Left, middle, &right) Mashrabiya House in Jerusalem, Palestine. Source: (AW, 2012) ... 101
Figure 118 (Left) Abstract plans of proposed envelop technique (Mashrabiya). Source: Author, 2017 ... 102
Figure 119 (Right) Abstract sections (B-B) of proposed envelop technique (Mashrabiya). Source: Author, 2017 ... 102
11 Figure 120 (Left) An ancient house belonging to the Ottoman era in Gaza. Source: (felesteen, 2016) ... 104 Figure 121 (Middle) An ancient house in Gaza. Source: (paltoday, 2016) ... 104 Figure 122 (Right) Modern and contemporary courtyard. Source: (homedesignlover, Undated) .... 104 Figure 123 The soil layers and its management. Source: (Samin, 2016) ... 106
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List of Tables
Table 1 Primary and secondary research questions. Source: Author, 2017... 19 Table 2 The classification of damage. Source: (UNDP, 2014) ... 25 Table 3 Soil parameters for Gaza Strip. Source: (Hamad, Eshtawi, M. Abushaban, & Habboub, 2012). Edited by author... 40 Table 4 SWOT analysis. Source: Author, 2017 ... 43 Table 5: Summery of people’s responses in the online questionnaire about the use of natural and local materials to solve the housing problem in Gaza. Source: Author, 2017 ... 52 Table 6: Summery of people’s responses in the online questionnaire about the negative points that dis-encourage you to build with earth and local materials. Source: Author, 2017 ... 53 Table 7 : Summery of people’s responses in the online questionnaire about the positive points that encourage you to use earth and local materials for construction. Source: Author, 2017 ... 53
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1. Introduction
This chapter introduces a background about the critical housing situation of Gaza Strip, and the innovative attempts of using alternative materials to respond to the crucial need for housing. The problem of the research is discussed in this chapter as well as the aim of the research, and highlights the research objectives, limitations and scope, followed by the significance of the research, and the research methodology that is used to achieve the aim and objectives of the research, and finally the primary and secondary research questions.
1.1 Background
Earth is considered as the cheapest, and the most available and accessible material in the world, it has been used in different forms and techniques following the local culture, traditions, climate conditions, and the human needs. In addition, the advanced technologies of earth construction techniques are generally considered as a sustainable architectural solution for the 21th century as a construction material that achieves thermal comfort at a low cost in hot and cold climates. (Abboud, 2014)
Earth has been used in different countries around the world, it is one of the oldest building materials known to mankind for nearly ten thousand years, and it used through simple techniques to meet his need for shelter. The Tower of Babel which is the first skyscraper in history was built of mud in the seventh century BC; also building with earth in harmony with the environment was also spread in the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and the Arab and Islamic civilization in India and Mexico and in various civilizations in Africa.
It is the way of building that people used to build their homes for at least 10,000 years in Jordan Valley including Jericho in Palestine, and in Gaza mostly in rural areas during the Ottoman era and continued until the early beginning of the 20th century. (Massad, 2013)
In Palestine, all buildings and structures are threatened with destruction, and Israeli companies export the vast majority of the construction materials to Palestinians, which is an expensive and unstable resource, as it depends on the political situation and restrictions imposed by the occupation authority. So building with earth material came as a tool to face critical housing situations.
15 Gaza Strip has a particular situation as a besieged area, the successive Israeli wars caused massive destruction of buildings; a lot of people are still homeless or living in caravans, in addition to the collapse of the economy; as the construction sector is considered one of the main sectors in Palestine, and contributes to the operation of 12.2 % of the labor forces in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. (Sawalhi & Abu Ajwa, 2014)
Accordingly, a new thinking of construction sector has started in order to find affordable alternative materials such as earth, and passive architectural designs, to overcome the financial problem and revive the social and cultural links.
Innovations in the building sector have been initiated, in response to the needed shelters. Earthen construction has been revived as a tool to face the political situation and the ultimate need for housing and public structures due to the impossibility of importing sufficient amount of construction materials such as cement and steel.
Several attempts have emerged out individually or by international organizations in the Gaza Strip to use earth as an alternative construction material, with recycled local materials to provide housing in emergency situations. But the prevalence of this kind of architecture is still limited to few buildings and individual attempts, and needs to be enhanced in Gaza community as it’s still perceived as a poor architecture and people have doubts about its durability.
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Figure 2 (Left) Production of mud bricks in Gaza. Source: (BBC News, 2009) Figure 3 (Right) House of sandbags in Khan Younis-Gaza. Source: (Aljazeera, 2011)
This research aims to study the relevance and potential of earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip, by developing a feasibility study to explore the barriers and the opportunities of using earth as a construction material to alleviate the suffering of people, and then to develop a strategy that corresponds with the output of the feasibility study which in turn will contribute to support the explored and existing opportunities in the Gaza Strip, and open up to innovative earth techniques and alternative solutions.
1.2 Problem Statement
The successive wars on the Gaza Strip have caused a huge building destruction. With the imposed siege that hinders the entering of construction materials, the construction and reconstruction process have become impossible, and the housing tragedy is becoming increasingly complicated.
After the war of 2014, 78 % of the citizens have been forced to build and live in poor quality houses, tents and caravans. Thus, the thinking of alternative construction resources and techniques has emerged. However, the use of alternative resources and techniques such as earth does not seem to be enough widespread to meet the urgent need of housing. From here, the research came to deal with the housing emergency in the Gaza Strip, in light of the limited lands and resources, and investigate the reasons of the limited usage of earthen construction as an alternative solution for housing.
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1.3 The aim and objective s of the study
The aim of the research is to intensify the number of housing units, as a response to the crucial need of housing in the Gaza Strip which has very limited available lands and high population growth, and investigate the relevant and visibility of the earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip.
Study the potential, relevance, and the feasibility of using earth as a material for construction purposes in the Gaza strip.
State the problems and barriers toward adopting earthen houses in the Gaza Strip.
Study various earth construction techniques that can be applicable and acceptable in the case of the Gaza Strip.
Clarify the potential of earth material in contemporary architectural scenario.
Identify the applicability of using earth for housing in the Gaza Strip, and its role in respecting the sustainability dimensions.
Encourage the community and increase the awareness to think of alternative and innovative construction techniques for housing.
1.4 Research limitations and scope
1. The main focus of the study will be on housing projects in the Gaza Strip; as a priority for helping people and enhancing the economic sector, and particularly in Gaza Strip because it has currently the most serious situation in Palestine.
2. The collected data mainly depends on previous studies and online questionnaires, as it is quite difficult to have an access to Gaza for direct interviews due to the political situation, in addition to the difficulty that faced me in posting the online questionnaire via Face Book pages.
3. This research targeted both; the citizens of Gaza who were asked to answer the online questionnaire, and construction professionals and different stakeholders who will benefit from the outcome of this research for future earthen projects in the Gaza Strip.
The scope of the research is to develop a comprehensive strategy that can be a helpful tool for innovative housing projects in the Gaza Strip.
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1.5 Significance of the study
Housing is an urgent need in Gaza Strip, and its provision is a main tool towards helping people who are still living in misery situations, as well as revive the construction sector which is considered the main sector that contributes to the economy of the Strip.
This study can be used as a theoretical basis for concrete practices using earth and future housing projects, as it depends on understanding the perception of people of Gaza, answering their doubts associated with earth materials, and works on encouraging and promoting the use of earthen architecture. Thus, increasing the awareness of people and professionals in the Gaza Strip towards new unique alternative ways of construction can be considered the first step to contribute to the widespread use of contemporary earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip.
1.6 Research Methodology
In order to answer the research questions and achieve the research objectives, the study depends on primary and secondary data.
The primary data has been identified as "data originated for the first time by the researcher through direct efforts and experience, specifically for the purpose of addressing his research problem". (keydifferences, 2016). Concerning that an online questionnaire has been conducted with the people in the Gaza Strip, through social networking pages dedicated to the people of Gaza, and that will be detailed in the questionnaire analysis part in chapter 3. The primary data has been developed in order to understand the relevance and potential of applying earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip.
The secondary data has been defined as "second-hand information which is already collected and recorded by any person other than the user for a purpose, not relating to the current research problem". (keydifferences, 2016). This kind of data depended on various resources in order to reach an accurate and various information about the situation of the Gaza Strip from different aspects. The resources included: journals, articles, books, censuses, governmental documents, organizations’ publications, and websites.
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1.7 Primary and secondary research questions
Primary research question The source of data
How to use earth as an alternative and complementary material to intensify the number of housing units in a very limited available land and resources, taking into consideration the high population density?
Secondary data
Secondary research questions
How to encourage the people in Gaza to adopt earth as a material for housing construction?
Primary and secondary data
What are the added values of adapting earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip? Secondary data
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1.8 Description of the thesis’s chapters
The thesis is represented in six chapters:
The first chapter "introduction" gives an overview about the topic of the research. This includes: general background about earthen architecture and its relevance in the Gaza Strip, problem statement, aim and objectives of the study, scope and limitations of the research, the significance of the study, research methodology, followed by the research questions, and finally the description of the thesis’s chapters.
The second chapter "literature review" describes the living conditions and challenges in the Gaza Strip, through studying the population growth and density, the size of buildings’ damages, the housing emergency, and the existed buffer zone and its effect on the land use of the Gaza Strip. The third chapter "feasibility study" investigates the potential of using earth materials for construction purposes. The feasibility study included five aspects: the local building culture of Gaza Strip, the construction sector and the available local building materials in Gaza Strip, constructing a questionnaire, and stakeholders’ analysis.
In chapter four, development strategy concerning promoting earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip has been developed based on the results of chapter three. The strategy followed four approaches: studying the contemporary architecture of Gaza, introducing three earthen construction techniques which are: adobe, compressed earth block (CEB), and rammed earth, in addition to presenting three case studies of earthen contemporary architecture, and finally clarifying the earthen architecture values.
The chapter five "design and technical proposals" includes design concepts and technical construction proposals, which are: in-fill walling technique, envelope technique, floors extension, and new housing units.
Chapter six "conclusions and recommendations" is the final part of the research and it is dedicated to discuss the results of the research as well as providing recommendations for future housing projects and research concerning earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip.
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2. Introduction
This chapter analyzes the current situation of the Gaza Strip through studying the context of the research, its population census and population density, and the size of building’s destruction and the crucial need for housing, followed by the challenges that are facing the Gaza Strip resulting from the imposed Israel’s buffer zone.
2.1 The context
Gaza Strip is located in the south-eastern of the Mediterranean Sea, and the south-western part of Palestine, with an area of about 360 sq. km, and about 1.79 millions of people living there; which make it one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Gaza Strip is an isolated area, surrounded by five boarders: four with Israel and one with Egypt. Gaza has five major cities and eight refugee camps. It is one of the most populated cities in the world, with about 5,000 people/sq. km, and increasing natural population 3.41% per year, which increases the need for housing. (Muhaisen, Development of the House Architectural, 2016)
2.2 Population
Population growth is increasing and expected to grow to 2.13 million by 2020, the population density of the Gaza Strip is considered the highest in the world; 4,505 people live on one square kilometer, and with increasing the growth in such a limited area it is expected to reach rise to 5,835 people per square kilometer by 2020. (BBC, 2014)
The following map shows the population density respectively from the highest to the lowest population density in five major cities in the Gaza Strip; Gaza City, North Gaza, Dier al Balah, Rafah, and Khan Younis.
Figure 4 Location of the Gaza Strip. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016)
23 Gaza City and North Gaza respectively are the densest parts of the Gaza Strip. To give more sense of the high population density, the map shows a comparison between the size of London and the size of the Gaza Strip which almost have the same population density while having a big difference in sizes; where London is three to four times the size of the Gaza Strip.
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2.3 Housing emergency in the Gaza strip
Gaza is considered one of the most emergent zones in term of housing. During the 50 day of war from 8 July until 26 August 2014, 2,251 Palestinians were killed, with a huge scale of destruction; 10,000 housing units were completely damaged, 10,000 housing units with severe damages, and about 40,000 housing units were partially damaged. (Germanà & Alatawneh, 2016). 500,000 persons were displaced and 75,000 persons remain displaced to this day living in rubble, caravans and tents, and not able to build their own houses. (UNRWA, 2017)
The map shows in detail the size of destruction in the five main cities of the Gaza Strip during the war of 2014, where the most affected areas are located in the north and the south of the Strip.
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Severe Damage Partial Damage Total Damage
“Housing units where the skeleton incurred heavy damages to such an extent that it has become unsuitable for living.” (UNDP, 2014)
“Housing units that incurred damages while the house is still adequate for living. In case the damages are less than USD 5,000 it can be categorized as a house with minor damages”. (UNDP, 2014)
“Housing units that are totally in rubble or where at least 50% of the structure of the house has incurred severe damage”. (UNDP, 2014)
Figure 7 (left) Severe Damaged apartment, source: (Harriet, 2015) Figure 8 (Middle) Partially damaged house, source: (Arnesen, 2009) Figure 9 (Right) Totally damage buildings, source: (Schilling, 2014)
With the lack of construction materials and the increasing of the population growth, it is expected by 2020 that additional 71,000 houses are needed due to the inadequate and overcrowded level of living conditions. (OCHA, 2016)
The imposed restriction on entering the construction materials hinders the completion of housing projects. From the thousands of tons (approximately 577,000 tons) the needed cement, only 4% of the needed cement is available. 39% of the affected buildings have been rehabilitated, and only 16% of the totally destroyed houses have been completed.
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Figure 10 Progress in construction of 17,800 homes destroyed or severely damaged during 2014 conflict: Source (OCHA, 2016)
2.4 The buffer zone and land use
According to the UN, 2009, "The area inside the Buffer Zone along the northern and eastern borders with Israel contains nearly a third (29%) of the Gaza Strip's arable land, and is inaccessible to farmers." This in turn means that 100% of the Israel’s buffer zone is arable lands. According to the UN, the buffer zone is extended to 3 Km by 2014, in the northern and eastern part of the Gaza Strip, with a total area more than 40% of the strip. (IMEMC Agencies, 2015)
Figure 11 (left) The buffer zone map in the Gaza Strip. Source: (Sennder, 2014) Figure 12 (Right) Land use in the Gaza Strip. Source: (Shomar, Abu Fakher, & Yahya, 2009)
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Figure 13 Major land use sectors in the Gaza Strip. Source: (Shomar, Abu Fakher, & Yahya, 2009)
The graph clarifies that 39% of the Gaza strip lands is agricultural areas, most of which located in its eastern part, where around 30% of which is located in the Israel’s buffer zone. (IMEMC Agencies, 2015)
Many residential agglomerations are located on the edges of the buffer zone, which justifies the large destruction in these areas during the wars particularly in the northern part of the Strip.
2.5 Conclusion
Gaza Strip suffers from high population density and population growth, and the buffer zone controls the land use distribution of Gaza, as people are not able to build or work in the agriculture field in high risk zones. Thus, meeting the housing needs is becoming increasingly complex.
The current situation forces to deal with these challenges and achieve the best use of the available lands through deep understanding of the context and its available resources that could be the key to mitigate the suffering and risks resulting from the lack of adequate housing.
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3. Using earth as a construction material in the Gaza Strip
In order to investigate the opportunities and challenges of using earth for constructions in the Gaza Strip, detailed study has been carried out depending on four main factors which are: the local building culture, the construction sector, available local building materials, stakeholder analysis, and the conducted questionnaire.
Feasibility study
The local building culture of Gaza Strip
The construction sector in Gaza Strip
Available local building materials in Gaza Strip
Results, conclusion and recommendations Constructing a questionnaire
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3.1 The local building culture (LBC) of Gaza Strip
The LBC is the result of "adapting a community to the environmental conditions of territory in which it is established" to produce "a situated architecture and building systems respectful of their local environment". These building practices are "the result of people’s customs, beliefs and capacities”, and "a consequence of available resources, local climate, social practices and cultural models”, which result in various building cultures around the world. (Markovic, 2016, p. 28)
According to (Caimi et al, 2017, p. 5) “A local building culture results from the adaptation of a community to the environmental conditions of the territory in which it is established - physical, climatic, social, economic and cultural”.
Several construction techniques have been used over the years, depending mainly on earth materials such as clay, stone, mud, sand and others. The Palestinian buildings including Gaza’s houses are classified as traditional and contemporary houses; traditional houses that used natural earthen materials and mainly characterized by thick slabs and walls that have low thermal transmittance thus high thermal comfort, whereas the contemporary houses depend on new materials with thin slabs and walls and high thermal transmittance.
In order to investigate the relevance of earthen architecture in the Gaza Strip, the first step will be through studying the local building culture in the Gaza Strip.
Mud and sand are considered the main local materials that have been traditionally used in houses construction in Gaza Strip. Three types of houses have been classified according to construction materials which are: sandstone houses, mud houses, and concrete houses.
3.1.1 Sandstone houses
Sandstone was used as a building material for thousands of years in the Gaza Strip by rich people, it is also used as a material of historical monumental and all buildings made of stone in Gaza. (Muhaisen, 2016)
It exists along the coast, easy to quarry and dress, with using plaster for the exterior walls, as it behaves badly with weather fluctuations.(Hadid, 2002)
31 The majority of these houses were built in the Ottoman era, and continued in the Gaza Strip in the period 1517-1914. (Muhaisen, Development of the House Architectural, 2016)
Sandstone was considered the basic building material for the rich; it represents a distinctive architecture and elements in the old city of Gaza. The sand was extracted from ancient quarries located in the east and north of the old city of Gaza, these quarries are not almost available as it was covered with the expansion of the built up area, especially with the stop of using such material during the 20th century.
The houses were built of sandstone, one or two floors maximum, with uncovered stair case leading to the upper floor, walls were thick, and roofs were vaulted made of intersecting sandstone arches, and it looks flat from the top.
Design elements and characteristics
The courtyard was the main feature of the traditional houses in the old city of Gaza; surrounded by small habitable rooms. The courtyard is considered the heart of the house, as all the daily and social activities were happening in it, in addition to its environmental advantages in providing comfortable thermal zone, especially with planting it with some vegetation and trees. The courtyard was an important factor in letting in natural light, internal shade areas in summer, and warm sunshine during winter. (Muhaisen, Development of the House Architectural, 2016)
Using decoration elements such as columns and arches were used for aesthetic value, as well as representing the socioeconomic level of the occupants. The visual privacy was a very important issue; that was represented by broken entrance, and small few openings, in addition to the function of these factors in keeping the internal space clean of dust.
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Figure 14 (Left) Plan of a Courtyard Sandstone House in Gaza (Alamy House). Source: (Muhaisen, 2016) Figure 15 (Right) Courtyard Spaces in Sandstone Houses in Gaza. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016)
3.1.2 Mudstone (sun dried bricks)
Mud was extensively used by poor, low-income people and farmers, because of its low cost in comparison with sandstone. Mudstone houses were almost located in periphery areas outside the city and rural areas. (Muhaisen, Development of the House Architectural, 2016)
Clay is considered the basic material to erect the walls and roofs, supported by branches of local trees such as palm, sycamore and eucalyptus trees.
Design elements and characteristics
The mudstone houses were made up of small rooms, and big rooms for crops and animals, around a small courtyard, where there was a part of it dedicated for a mud oven. For the large rooms, the roof took the form of intersecting vaults, made of stone arches supported by stone pillars placed in the mud walls, for the small rooms, the roof was flat made of trunks and trees branches and covered with mud from the top. (Muhaisen, Development of the House Architectural, 2016)
Unlike sandstone houses, domed and vaulted roofs did not usually exist, because of the modest techniques skills of the owner and his neighbors, and the need for well trained workforces.
The mud construction was usually made collectively; the owner was building his house with a cooperation with his friends and neighbors which reflects a unique social cohesion.
33 Openings were high and small in order to maintain privacy and natural ventilation. The mud has various advantages that contributed to be widely spread over a long period of time such as: it's the availability as simple and cheap material that is easy to build and form with without high skilled workforce, in addition to the thermal isolation characteristics of mud walls and roofs.
Figure 16 (Left) Plan of Traditional Mud House in Gaza. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016)
Figure 17 (Right) Recent Mud House in Gaza in the Construction Process. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016)
In spite of these advantages, some disadvantages like the low resistance to moisture and rain water, in addition to the limited vertical and horizontal expansion hindered the continuity and development of this kind of architecture.
The majority of these buildings are no longer available; they disappeared, because of the lack of maintenance and continuous destruction of them to build new cement houses. Only 130 houses based on these techniques (sandstone and mudstone) are still existed in the old city of Gaza.
Currently, due to the shortage of the cement material, some governmental, international and private initiatives have called for reviving the construction with mud as a temporary solution. Thus, few public and individual initiatives have appeared and achieved kind of success, but due to some disadvantages of mud construction in term of water resistance, durability, maintenance and the limited availability of mud in the Gaza Strip, and the destructive impact on the agricultural area in case of its overuse, the mud construction expansion has been undesirable. (Muhaisen and Ahlbäck, 2012)
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3.1.3 Concrete houses
With the entry of cement material in the first half of the 20th century, concrete houses widely spread to become the most common way of construction. Concrete structure provided a high degree of construction flexibility, which allows speed building process, and vertical and horizontal expansion. Thus the using of sandstone and mud discontinued and stopped in the second half of the 20th century. (Muhaisen, Development of the House Architectural, 2016)
The construction sector in Gaza Strip has extremely developed after introducing the cement; it allowed for free exterior and interior design with a variety of finishing materials, and multi-story buildings in very limited areas to respond to the high need for housing. This in turn led to increase the population density.
Besides these positive characteristics, this transformation brought some negative impacts on losing the local culture and unique architectural elements, in addition to the loss of the local architectural identity of Gaza Strip, where concrete buildings are a global style and existed everywhere around the world. From other side, the high thermal conductivity and low thermal resistance of concrete in compare with sandstone or mud led to the reliance on technology to provide comfortable thermal condition.
Design elements and characteristics
Multi storey concrete buildings are widely spread in Gaza strip; the flats in each floor usually consist of three main zones: sleeping, living, and service zones, with exterior balconies. (Muhaisen, 2016) Privacy principles are also applied in the design and zones arrangement of the house. For example, the guest room, kitchen and WC have to be near the entrance.
The buildings structures are made of reinforced concrete, the walls are erected by concrete hollow blocks. Windows have medium size, with aluminum frame and single glazed.
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Figure 18 (Left) A plan of a single flat of Multi-stories concrete building in Gaza. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016) Figure 19 (Right) Multi-stories concrete house buildings in Gaza. Source: (Muhaisen, 2016)
3.1.4 Contemporary residential buildings in the Gaza Strip
The contemporary style of the Gaza Strip started to be appeared since 1995s, influenced from the post-modern designs. (Badawy, 2012)
The types of residential buildings:
1. Separate house: the single house style is usually popular for extended families, it usually has two floors; the building materials are either concrete or hollow blocks, plastered and painted exterior walls, and lack thermal isolation so they are hot in the summer and very cold in winter. The separate houses have good ventilation from four sides.
This type of houses exists in all cities and villages of Gaza.
2. Villas: villas exist in modern architectural style in cities and villages in Gaza, they usually built for young families, with hollow blocks as a building material and in some cases they built with concrete, and they are plastered with stone.
3. Apartments:
- Low and medium rise buildings: in highly populated urban areas, buildings blocks are distinguished for housing accommodations. The demand for these apartments was increasing as a result of population growth. The number of floor reaches 7 above the ground level, with 1, 2, or three apartments in each floor. The building materials are also concrete and hollow blocks.
36 - High rise (tower) buildings: this type of buildings exists since 1995, it can reach 15 floors, it has been used for residential and office functions. The facades usually built concrete material and painted with light colors.
Figure 20 (Left) Common style of separate house in Gaza. Source: (Aqarfelesteen, 2015) Figure 21 (Middle) Type of villas in Gaza. Source: (Sogarab, 2014)
Figure 22 (Right) Multi-stories building in Gaza Strip. Source: (Aqarfelesteen, 2016)
Hollow concrete is used in Gaza cities, villages and refugee camps as a cheaper material in compare with stone, which is 45% less than the total cost of stone building.
A survey done by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in 2011 after the first war in Gaza found that the foundations of 1000 house of one story out of 3,500 demolished units were designed to be vertically extended up to 3 to 5 floors.
3.2 The construction sector in the Gaza Strip
Studying the current condition of the construction sector contributes to determine the strength and weakness points as well as opportunities associated with developing the housing sector in Gaza. According to local and international organizations, there is a significant shortage in the needed housing units to meet the population growth. The rapid population growth in combination with the imposed blockage and the destruction housing process before and during the Gaza war, are the main causes of the inadequate housing conditions. (Muhaisen and Ahlbäck, 2012)
Various organizations had efforts to provide houses and overcome this problem, but insignificant outcomes have been carried out up to now; only 12% of the houses have been reconstructed. 78 % of
37 the citizens are living now in caravans and tents due to the lack of construction materials and infrastructure services. (The Independent Online, 2014)
Increasing the demand for buildings construction will in turn increase the demand for resources to unsustainable levels. (Muhaisen and Ahlbäck, 2012)
The degradation in the construction sector also contributed to a high unemployment rate up to 58%. (Worldbank, 2017). In 2005, the construction sector provides 22,220 employments, and dropped to 4800 by the end of 2009 due to the blockage that hinders the access of construction materials. In the late of 2010, the number of workers in the construction sector slightly increased to reach 7900, due to limited easing in the entering of construction materials.
Some construction projects are done by international organization using the allowed quantity of construction materials in addition to smuggling materials through the tunnel under the border with Egypt. (Muhaisen and Ahlbäck, 2012)
Figure 23 Quantities of construction materials entering Gaza (ton) Oct 2014- May 2015. Source: (Palestine Shelter Cluster, 2015)
The humanitarian projects in the graph included only the construction materials that are used to construct public buildings and not housing, while the materials that enter by GRM (The Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism) a portion of which is used for housing construction and the other is used for public buildings. (Palestine Shelter Cluster, 2015)
The 5-year projection line represents the needed ABC materials for housing construction for the next 5 years. It includes the wars before 2014 and the war of 2014, as well as an expectation of the amount of houses needed as result of the natural population growth of Gaza.
38 The restrictions imposed by the Israeli authority on external trade have highly affected the economic potential of Gaza. The smuggling through tunnels have been developed in order to provide the basic building materials, it is estimated that in 2012 1.7 million tons of aggregate, cement and steel bars were imported through the tunnels, and one million tones of the same materials entered the Gaza Strip from Kerem Shalom in the south of the Strip only for authorized projects.
Most of the newly constructed buildings in Gaza strip have been constructed by exporting the construction material from outside and especially from Israel, since the siege and especially after the Cast Lead Operation in 2008, the amount of exported construction materials became very limited.
3.2.1 Construction training centers in the Gaza Strip
Several training centers are existed in the Gaza Strip; belonging to NGOs, and international, private and governmental organizations. They provide technical and professional training to the workers in the construction domain, such as: plastering, tiling, carpentry, electrical installations, air conditioning, building construction, metal work, bumping, and others for around 150-200 students each year. (Muhaisen and Ahlbäck, 2012)
The government has four training centers and they provide different training courses, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) have two training centers to train refugee students. Traditionally, workers inherit the construction profession from one generation to another; they acquire skills and trainings from the worksites, in a preference of ensuring regular income rather than long period of training in training centers.
Beside training centers, there are community colleges and universities that have different specializations related to building construction activities. About 70-100 students graduate annually from the colleges with a diploma certificate, in addition to 300-350 architects and engineers graduate from local universities.
These centers are considered a big opportunity for construction practices, although they still in need for improvements to deal with the current requirements, in addition to updating the trainer with the latest construction practices. Labs are below the needed standards, which affect negatively the proficiency of the acquired skills, with a better level in the universities of Gaza, but still improvement is needed.
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3.3 Available local building materials 3.3.1 Recycled construction material
Local and international organizations have given attention to reusing and recycling rubble that resulted from extensive destruction of buildings during the wars, in an attempt to find alternative materials and improve the construction sector. (Muhaisen and Ahlbäck, 2012)
For example, the war in 2008 generated about 600,000 tons of concrete rubble; the recycling process focuses on producing aggregate to be later used for concrete mixes, blocks manufacturing, and roads constructions.
In late 2010, the aggregate produced from recycling processes was approximately 38,000 tons. There are 30 to 50 small rubble crushers in Gaza, privately owned; they employ 180-300 workers directly involved in the rubble recycling, and other workers indirectly work in collecting the rubble and crushing blocks from destructed sites in Gaza. Two big rubble crushers belong to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) also produce aggregates for concrete mixes and road construction purposes.
Tests results indicate that the concrete made using crushed construction and demolition wastes gives almost as much as strength as normal concrete.
Block factories are also distributed along the Gaza strip; they manufacture blocks from their producing of small aggregates. The using of recycled materials as well as smuggled materials through tunnels has contributed to revive the construction sector. The availability of these materials is declining and it has become a depleted source, thus the employment in these activities is also declining. (Muhaisen and Ahlbäck, 2012)
3.3.2 Alternatives and natural resources
Other traditional and local building materials can be used as alternative resources; such as steel sheets, wood, plastic bottles, however, the availability of these materials is limited, in addition to their doubtful quality that don’t allow large scale use in the construction sector. (Paccoud, 2015) Earth materials are considered an available and sustainable resource for construction purposes. The using of earth materials depends on the available type of soils, and the construction technique that will be used later.
40 The following map clarifies the six types of soil in the Gaza Strip, which are; dark brown/silty clay, loess soil, loessal sandy, sandy loess soil over loess, sandy loess soil, and sand regosols. Each type of soil has different percentages of sand, clay, and silt, and depends on these percentage the earth construction technique will be determined.
Figure 24 Soil map of Gaza Strip. Source: (Hamad, Eshtawi, M. Abushaban, & Habboub, 2012)
Soil classification Sand% Clay% Silt%
Sandy 87 9 4
Loess soil 58 6 34
Loess sandy soil 66 14 20
Sandy loess soil 56 23 27
Sandy loess soil over loess 66 18 16
Dark brown/reddish brown 62 25 13
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Figure 25 The Israeli buffer zone, build-up area, and soil types in Gaza Strip. Source: (Author, 2017)
(Figure 25) clarifies the limited availability of lands for building and agriculture activities, due to the large proportion of lands took by the Israeli buffer zone, in addition to the high population density. The Israeli buffer zone has expanded several times since 2005 up to August 2014, and keeps preventing the Palestinians from accessing their own lands; as the buffer zone is high risk zone and civilians are prone to direct targeting and indiscriminate attacks by Israeli attacks that may result in injury or death. (IMEMC, 2015). As mentioned before; 95% of this restricted area is arable land, which constitutes 35% of the agricultural areas of the Gaza strip.
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Analysis of the map
The remaining area of the dark brown soil has to be left for agricultural purposes as it has the highest proportion of clay (25%), or the amount of the fertile soil can be carefully transferred to other site for agriculture uses, then the site can be used for construction activities.
The remaining land of the loess soil can be used for urban expansion, as the amount of clay is low (6%).
The remaining lands of the loessal sandy soil can be used for both urban expansion using earth techniques and agriculture purposes as it has 14% of clay. In case it will be used for construction, it is recommended to use the extracted amount of soil to build with or transfer it for agricultural use. The remaining lands of the sandy loessal soil over loess can also be used for both; constructions using earth techniques and agriculture purposes as it has 18% of clay. In case it will be used for construction, it is also recommended to build in the same site using the extracted amount of soil to build, and transfer the fertile soil for agricultural use.
The remaining lands of the sandy loessal soil has a high quantity of clay (23%), so in this case it is recommended to be exploited for agricultural purposes.
The coastal area which is completely out of the buffer zone has a sandy regosols soil, which has only 9% of clay, so it can be used for sand bags construction techniques that will be explained in the case studies part. From other side, this type of soil is not suitable for agriculture purposes unless another type of soil with high amount of clay transfers to these sites.
According to the study of Paccoud (2015) a soil test done by the labs of the Islamic university found that a proper soil for earth construction purposes is available in Erez extraction area, which is located in the north of the Gaza Strip near Beit Lahia, under the sandy regosols soil after digging about 2m in the ground.
43 In order to clarify the feasibility of using earth for constructions in the Gaza Strip, the main critical points of the first three parts of this chapter are summarized in the following SWOT Analysis:
Strengths Weaknesses
The use of earth materials for construction purposes in collaborative way years ago.
Smuggled conventional construction materials.
Importing construction materials from Israel.
Several training centers exist along the Gaza Strip.
Block factories and rubble crushers to reusing and recycling rubble also exist.
Available different types of soils.
The imposed blockage that hinders the access of construction materials.
Expensive prices of imported materials from Israel.
The continuous destruction of housing.
Significant shortage in the needed housing units.
High unemployment rate.
Limited availability of lands for building and agriculture activities.
Limited availability of clay.
Limited availability of recycled construction material.
Opportunities Threats
Several training centers exist along the Gaza Strip, some of them can be used as training centers for earthen construction practices.
Community colleges and universities are specialized in building construction, so earthen techniques could be inserted and developed.
Rapid population growth that will increase the need for more housing units.
Smuggling the construction materials through tunnels cannot be considered stable source as it follows international policies.
Importing construction materials from Israel is also unstable resource as it depends on the political situation, in addition to the instability in the prices of imported building materials.
The Israeli buffer zone, as its borders shifted with the outbreak of war, as well as the risks of construction and agriculture in that region.
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3.4 Questionnaire Analysis
After discussing with professionals who had earthen projects in Gaza and analyzing several documents, and finding out that they almost have in mind that people in Gaza mostly have a negative image towards earthen architecture, so an online questionnaire has been developed to ensure the feasibility of this research.
The questionnaire has been conducted in order to realize the people’s perception and acceptation toward using earthen architecture for housing construction in the Gaza Strip, getting an idea about their knowledge of earthen architecture, and being more closed to the situation of people in Gaza, their needs and desires.
The questionnaire targeted the citizens of the Gaza Strip, and it has been distributed through social networks (FaceBook) to people who are living in the Gaza Strip, through pages dedicated to the people of Gaza, and few number of friends. The number of the respondents was 47. (See appendix-A)
The questionnaire has been distributed in Arabic. The questionnaire was available online from the 5th of May until the 18th of May/2017. The short period of time (from 5th-18th of May) is due to the lack of acceptance by these pages to publish the questionnaire.
Results analysis of the questionnaire:
The questionnaire started with basic questions that give a general idea about the respondents group. All of the percentages are out of 100% which represents the 47 respondents.
1. The age
Figure 26 Graph of the age groups of the respondents in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 9 % 86 % 5 % Less than 20 Between 20-40 More than 40
45 The high majority of the respondents have an age less than 40, which means that the results will reflect the point of view of earthen architecture from youth and new generation, this category is considered the most influential trends in society.
2. Professional background
Figure 27 Graph of the professional background of the respondents in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017
The majority of the respondents are educated, with 5% working and studying in architecture and construction field, that reflects the importance of adopting the results. Taking into consideration that 92% of the population of Gaza has the basic education, and 67% are high educated. (UNDP, 2014) 34% of the sample are unemployed, which is considered high percentage when 95.7% aged less than 40. As previously mentioned, 58% of the total population in the Gaza Strip are unemployed. In this regard introducing new construction techniques using earth can have a potential to create new job opportunities.
3. Place of living
Figure 28 Graph of the living area of the respondents in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 35 % 1 % 26 % 4 % 34 % Student Student in construction or architecture field I work I work in construction or architecture field 62 % 13 % 25 % City Village Camp
46 This question has been proposed to study the effect of the place of living on the feasibility of using earth in Gaza. In the case of Gaza, the majority of the respondents live in cities that may have an effect on the final results, as we usually assume that people from cities have less interest in earthen houses.
That comes in line with the fact that the percentage of urban population is 73.9%, while the percentages of population in rural and camps areas are16.6% and 9.5% respectively. (PCBS, 2016)
4. What is the construction material of your house?
Figure 29 Graph of the construction materials of the respondents’ houses in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017
The percentage of mud houses is 0, so the respondants have not experimented earth materials. Also almost all the houses in Gaza are built with concrete blocks and rocks.
5. Type of housing
Figure 30 Graph of the type of respondents’ houses in the questionnaire. Source: Author,2017 52 % 17 % 23 % 0 % 8 % Concrete blocks Rock Concrete blocks plastered with rock Earth (mud) blocks Other 34 % 25 % 11 % 30 %
Single house one floor Single house two floors Apartment more than 4 floors
Apartment less than 4 floors
